Ohio County will begin the process of developing hiking, biking and water trails throughout the county and it needs the help of its citizens.
The recently formed Ohio County Trail Town Taskforce has been approved by the Kentucky Office of Adventure Tourism to begin the Trail Town Certification process, with the goal of developing a county-wide network of Trail Communities.
Trail Towns are destinations for travelers on foot, by bicycle, and by water. Currently, more than 30 communities statewide are working toward Trail Town certification. Dawson Springs in Hopkins County was the first certified Kentucky Trail Town. Trail towns provide opportunities for economic development, healthy activities for locals and visitors, and tourism enhancement.
Over the past few months, the local working group, has been assessing community interest and assets. The preliminary findings have uncovered sufficient water, hiking, and biking opportunities to move the Trail Town process toward the organizing phase.
Armed with the encouragement of Elaine Wilson, Kentucky Adventure Tourism Director, the Ohio County Trail Town Taskforce is embarking on engaging local recreation advocates, the business community, public officials, and community leaders to join forces in the initial organizing phase of the certification process. The Taskforce welcomes support and help from all communities, interested organizations and individuals to add to the success of this project.
Five working groups; Trail Route, Public Relations, Merchant, Volunteer Recruitment, and Signage, have been established to guide the certification process. These groups offer opportunities for public participation and community input. Development of a county trail town network plan will need a countywide coordination of planning, resources, and opportunity development.
The Taskforce has designated Hartford as the first applicant for Trail Town Certification. The intention of the committee is to use Hartford as a guide to provide other interested communities a smoother path to Trail Town designation.
The Trail Town Taskforce meets the first Thursday of the month at the Ohio County Cooperative Extension Service Office at 2 p.m.
If you would like more information about this topic, please contact Treg Ward at 270-363-6517 or Tiffany Calvert at 270 298-7441 or email at octrailtowns@gmail.com.
To view a PDF of the Kentucky Trail Towns How-To-Guide for Communities, click here.